Megabus.com's low fares are a ticket to ride

Published 10:24 pm, Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Photo: James Nielsen

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Megabus ground staff Richard Hutton signals a Megabus as it arrives at the pickup-departure area at Travis and Clay streets, Megabus is a low-cost inter-city bus company that has recently started service in Texas Tuesday, July 17, 2012, in Houston.
( James Nielsen / Chronicle ) less

Megabus ground staff Richard Hutton signals a Megabus as it arrives at the pickup-departure area at Travis and Clay streets, Megabus is a low-cost inter-city bus company that has recently started service in ... more

Photo: James Nielsen

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Twelve-year-old Malcom Porterfield left, and his father Wayne Porterfield right, sit in the upper deck front seats of a Megabus at Travis and Clay streets, Megabus is a low-cost inter-city bus company that has recently started service in Texas Tuesday, July 17, 2012, in Houston.
( James Nielsen / Chronicle ) less

Twelve-year-old Malcom Porterfield left, and his father Wayne Porterfield right, sit in the upper deck front seats of a Megabus at Travis and Clay streets, Megabus is a low-cost inter-city bus company that has ... more

Photo: James Nielsen

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Megabus.com's waiting area downtown tells the story of the company's strategy of holding down costs. One way it saves money is by not operating bus terminals. The unit of Coach USA serves nearly 100 cities.

Megabus.com's waiting area downtown tells the story of the company's strategy of holding down costs. One way it saves money is by not operating bus terminals. The unit of Coach USA serves nearly 100 cities.

Photo: James Nielsen

Megabus.com's low fares are a ticket to ride

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With fares as low as $1 to ride a double-decker bus to another Texas city, megabus.com is grabbing Houston riders' attention.

"I think the bus is absolutely fantastic," Wayne Porterfield said Tuesday as he waited to board the 10:15 a.m. coach to San Antonio. He and his 12-year-old son, Malcolm Porterfield, were among 15 to 20 people lined up for the bus that stops in a parking lot at Clay and Travis downtown.

Porterfield and his son have made four previous trips on the 81-seat blue buses that began local service June 19. The 6-year-old company offers nonstop rides from Houston to Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Galveston, San Antonio and New Orleans.

Porterfield, who paid $14 for two roundtrip tickets, said he likes the free WiFi at each seat and doesn't mind that there is no bus terminal but simply a sign on the street showing where the bus stops and a small tarp for shelter.

"The savings is going to put a dent in Greyhound's lifestyle," he said.

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According to the megabus.com website, fares on one day's notice range from $1 for a trip from Galveston to Houston to $36 for a ride from Houston to New Orleans. Fares vary by proximity to the departure date, popularity of the departure time and how many tickets have already been sold.

"We see it as a benefit to the industry and the public," Stokes said. "It provides more options to use when traveling and shows how popular bus transportation is becoming."

'Really encouraged'

Dale Moser, CEO of Coach USA, parent company of megabus.com, said although the Texas service is still losing money after a month, it has been well received in the state. Other markets are turning a profit.

"So far, the kind of sales and popularity we're seeing is equal to or greater than any hubs we've ever opened," Moser said. "We're really encouraged with that."

Like megabus.com, Greyhound operates express buses from Houston to Austin, San Antonio and Dallas. These coaches have leather seats with power plug-ins and WiFi and more legroom than on routes that make stops, Stokes said.

Greyhound express has some $1 fares, with those who buy early having a better chance of getting them, he said.

Greyhound bus terminals provide a customer service representative to help express bus passengers before they board and a separate waiting area to keep them out of the weather, Stokes said.

Low overhead

Megabus.com keeps expenses down in part, Moser said, by not having to operate bus terminals in the nearly 100 cities it serves.

"The company makes money because it keeps its overhead very low," he said. "One way is selling tickets via the Internet as opposed to having sales staff and facilities to collect money and take tickets - the old-fashioned way the bus industry used to be run."

Moser said megabus.com buses account for 32 million of the 75 million miles driven by Coach USA vehicles annually. The parent company's accident rate per million miles is half the national average, he said.

The only fatal accident recorded by megabus.com, he said, was a wreck in Syracuse, N.Y., last September in which four people were killed. Moser said the crash was attributed to driver error.

"Safety is important to every employee of our company," he said.

'This saves me $100'

Sophie Berger, a student from Rotterdam, Netherlands, traveling for three months in the United States and Central America, said she has ridden Greyhound many times. But for this week's trip from Houston to Austin, she opted for megabus.com's $11 fare.